Game:

Banjo-Kazooie (1998)

Duration: 1:30

428 views

16

Music by Grant Kirkhope for the soundtrack of the Banjo Kazooie game. Music theory analysis and piano cover visualization project made with the actual audio tracks from the original Nintendo 64 game. Extracted with a specialized audio software, we can now dig inside the score for the first time; offering us a glimpse for how each instrument contributes to the whole.

♫ Support the Channel: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/musictracks
♫ Media files and support for future interactive tools (Patreon):

https://bit.ly/officialmusictracksmedia

Musical Analysis:

Structure: Section 0 / Section 1 / Section 2 / Section 3 / Section 4 / Section 5 / Section 6 / Section 7

Time Signature: 4/4

Tempo: 180 (Section 0) 150

Melodic and Harmonic Profiles: C Ionian/Major; F Lydian; G Ionian/Major; C Aeolian/Minor

Happy 25th anniversary to the bear and the bird. The ones that managed to stand shoulder to shoulder with the plumber for a while.

“I look for the odd note”

That is it. The man himself in the fewest words possible tells it like it is and what is at the core of his style. This is why a game with fluffy animals and google eyed objects does not sound like your typical morning cartoon fable and rather like the twisted-circus music gone wrong we all associate with the Banjo-Kazooie series and Rareware as a whole; cheerful and oddly sinister at the same time, a style that is adapted to the humor and vibe of the wacky worlds. The quirkily dark genre. So what is meant by the wrong note? Well, a lot of things and a lot of notes, and even chords figure on all of this (hint: tritones galore—what British musicians deem Indonesian folk music—harmony, melody, does not matter. Shove them in whenever you can).

This music surely does not fit into the standard, basic major/minor harmony. And this is not due to some advanced music theory from the part of the composer or specialized music techniques. It all comes down to…looking for the off note, or the odd chord (of course you shall not forget the oom pah rhythms under any circumstances). So what is behind it? better to dig into some tunes and what could be the precedents to these stylistic choices. And bring your tuba and a healthy amount of tuned percussion while you are at it.

#banjokazooie #nintendomusic #musictheory

Other Statistics